DUBLIN 1-24
GALWAY 2-12
The hunt for Dublin’s four-in-a-row is very much on after Jim Gavin’s men savaged Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park.
Con O’Callaghan scored 1-3 and both Jack McCaffrey and Brian Fenton were ruthless and relentless. Galway made a decent fist of it but, as so many sides have done, they ran out of steam well before the end.
Dublin got off to a fast start and were 0-3 to 0-0 ahead before Galway kicked into gear. A high ball pumped into Damien Comer saw Stephen Cluxton make a costly error.
The Dublin goalkeeper rushed off his line despite the fact that two of his own defenders were covering Comer. He did not come close to getting the ball and the Galway No.14 was able to fist home the game’s opening goal.
Comer won a penalty, minutes later, but Eamonn Brannigan missed the chance to make it 2-1 to 0-4. His penalty was struck low and to Cluxton’s left but he got down smartly to pushed the ball wide. To make matters worse, Shane Walsh pushed the resulting 45 wide.
That slowed the Tribesmen’s momentum briefly but they were tied at 1-4 to 0-7 after 27 minutes. All was going well until Niall Scully cut in from the right flank and teed up Con O’Callaghan for a goal that put Dublin in the ascendancy. Both sides scored a couple of points each before the break and the half-time score was Dublin 1-9, Galway 1-7.
The opening 18 minutes of the second half saw Dublin rattle off six points to Galway’s two, with Paul Mannion, O’Callaghan and Dean Rock all getting fine scores.
Shane Walsh’s kicks from placed balls was improving as the game progressed and his 54th minute score, after Comer was dragged down by Jonny Cooper, made it 1-15 to 1-10. Comer should have reduced the arrears further but he pulled his effort wide, much to the enjoyment of Philly McMahon.
Cormac Costello was sprung from the bench after 49 minutes and he chipped in with a few handy points as Dublin pushed their lead out to eight points heading into the final 10 minutes.
Comer pulled off a wonder score from a tight angle but it was a rare point amid a bevvy of wides.
McCaffrey, who had cleared a Galway effort off the line in the first half [pictured below] and had ran the show for Dublin, was brought off on the 67th minute. The blue swathes rose as one to salute a truly excellent performance from the Dub’s No.7.
The final score came courtesy of another super-sub Kevin McMenamin and the gulf was 12 points until Walsh drilled home a consolation goal.
